Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the BBC on ensuring that licence fee payers receive value for money during the covid-19 outbreak with new content being broadcast.

As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a vital role to play in supplying information to the public throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, and it has introduced a wide-ranging package of measures to help keep the nation informed, educated, and entertained through these unprecedented times.

However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government and the government cannot intervene in the BBC’s editorial decisions. The Government is clear it expects the BBC to be held to the highest standards, and ensure value for money taking into account the wider public interest, but it is the BBC Board who is ultimately responsible for the appropriate use of licence fee revenue. The Comptroller and Auditor General of the NAO is the BBC's independent external auditor. The NAO is responsible for auditing the BBC accounts and ensuring value for money in the way the BBC uses its funds.